Problem 13 is being a “container” or providing a “holding environment” enough? with whom?

In 1963, Bion summarized his ideas about the therapist as “a container” who would “contain” people's emotions. Winnicott, also regarded as part of the British Object Relations School, discussed how some children grow up where there is chaos in the home; they are unsure of themselves and expect bad things to happen. They become quintessential pessimists. Winnicott described the “holding environment” as a house (of course, usually the people in the house) that promulgated the development of structure in the child's mind and diminished anxiety about what is sometimes called the “background of safety” or “sense of well-being.” ¹ Bion's approach was designed for “more disturbed” people and is loosely compatible with modern object relations theory. ²